Social media posts put brakes on man's chronic fatigue fraud

An insurance cheat who claimed that illness had stopped him working was caught out by his social media posts detailing his hobby of modifying fast cars and driving them on the roads and racetracks of Cyprus.

Christopher Parkin, 41, a steelwork draftsman, claimed that he was unable to work between August 2007 and September 2012 because he was suffering from Myalgic Encephalopathy which causes chronic fatigue.

He claimed he was living with his parents in Yorkshire, England.

But Mr. Parkin's social media posts revealed that he was able to continue his hobby of modifying and racing Noble Supercars. And many of those social media posts suggested that he was living in Cyprus, ITV reported.

A judge in the High Court of London recently ordered Mr. Parkin to repay £19,096 ($30,030) he fraudulently had obtained under an income protection policy from the Cirencester Friendly Society Ltd., plus interest and an interim £20,000 ($31,452) payment towards a £35,000 ($55,041) bill for costs.

In summing up, Judge Richard Seymour, said that “like so many people nowadays — particularly those who seem minded to perpetuate frauds (Mr. Parkin) seemed incapable of keeping off the Internet and sharing the true nature of his activities through social media.”